http://potterjotter.blogspot.co.uk/

Hopefully the link above does work.  This belongs to Potter Jotter who makes the most amazing ceramic ware, and will make it to order as well.  Definitely go and take a look. 

I've posted the above comment on my facebook page as well.


This is one of the things that make the early morning commute to Folkestone so worthwhile.  Sunrise over the Channel at Sandgate (taken through the car window admittedly)  This barely does justice to the amazing light shows we get treated to on a regular basis.  If you look hard enough you might even be able to see France on the horizon as well.

Teddies galore again.  These were for a brave young lady who lost her father four weeks ago.  Although they all look the same from a distance, each one has it's own personality and I'm told, that she sat them all on her bed and invited her relatives to claim the one that called to them.  I so love making these teddies.  However, I would love to make some from wedding dresses or bridesmaids dresses.  Or even the grooms waistcoat.  Baby clothes, old clothes that are no longer wearable but are still loved.  Even the back fabric off an old sofa that has gone to the big DFS in the sky. 

Christmas is rushing up fast, must get knitting.

Chaos, chaos and yet more chaos

Well we've moved ten miles down the road, which for my other half, is the first time he has ever lived this far away from his parents.  It's practically foreign shores for him  :)  The house is nice but smaller downstairs due to having the garage integrated into the front which allows us to access it from the kitchen, but takes a lot of space.

I no longer have an understairs cupboard, which means that we have suddenly realised just how much stuff I have.  So I'm working my way through it all to make craft fair goods and Christmas presents.  I've even had to consign my large dining room table to the garage and make do with a smaller table for sewing and knitting.  Mind you it does make me much tidier as I have much less room to dump stuff now  :)

I'm currently working on a fairisle sleeveless pullover in Excelana 4ply.  Knitted in the round until the sleeve shaping, it took ages to knit the 1x1 rib but it is going faster now that I have moved to the 3mm needles and the stranded colourwork.  2 x2 rib is nice to work, 1x1 hurts your hands, but it does look nice.  I guess quality comes at a price for the knitter as well as the customer.  My customer for this, is a wonderful lady who appreciates good quality and would rather spend £120 on a handknitted garment made from British wool, than £20 on a manmade yarn from China.

I've also just finished five teddies made from two sweaters and three brushed cotton shirts.  I'm going to make each one a waistcoat and dickie from one of the shirts as I could only include a little of them as ear linings and paw pads, because the thicknesses were so different from the sweaters. 

Introducing ..... ClaireBears

I realise that I have not blogged now for a very long time, but I have a very good reason for it.  I have been beavering away creating my new business which is all about making beautiful things.  Mainly Teddy Bears, specifically what I call Memory Bears.

I create these bears from clothing that holds a special place in the hearts of my customers.  Baby clothes, garments worn by members of the family who have passed away, and other garments that may hold special memories, perhaps wedding clothes or clothes worn on a special holiday.  Even clothes that have finally passed their use by date but you don't want to get rid of them because you love them so.  I turn them into displayable memories for you.

So far I have only made teddies from these clothes, but I do intend to increase my repertoire as soon as possible.  I am also making rabbits, gadget cases and other small items to sell at craft fairs.  Two under my belt so far, another one this Saturday and one at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone on November 1st.  (Hopefully so long as I remember to send off the booking form)

This was my very first Memory Bear.  Made from baby dungarees that were about 20 years old.  The lady who commissioned them wanted the bear for her daughter (who's daughter wore them) who was coming over from Australia.  She was so delighted with her bear and so was her daughter.

I had a bit of a gap between orders, but then a gentleman came with a bear that he had bought in Liverpool years ago that was dressed and holding a mop and a teddy bear with a board around her neck that said:  "I hate four letter words; cook, dust, wash, iron"  He wanted a bear made in a similar fashion for a friend's birthday.  This was a challenge but I rose to it and he was happy with the result, so I was too.

Then I got two commissions to create several bears out of clothes belonging to family members who had passed away.

I felt privileged to be allowed to create these bears and their recipients were so happy with them, even to one lady telling me that she felt she could always hug her grandad now whenever she needed to.  Reading that made me feel so good.

I have a range of bears now from small to large and I am hoping to build the business up to provide this service nationwide.  So if you have anything you would like turned into bears, give me a shout  :)

https://www.facebook.com/ClaireMemoryBears?ref=hl

And I'm still knitting commissions as well, and we're moving house week on Friday, so it's all go here.

Introducing Theodore Edward Bear

Here he is, all 17 1/2 inches high.  He has been made from a faux suede and fleece child's gilet that Ivan found at the bottom of his work ragbag.  He had to be handsewn, as the sewing machine flatly refused to have anything to do with it.  His head and paws have plastic joints in them, so that he is posable, and he was incredibly good fun to make.

His little waistcoat has been made from the offcuts of Harris Tweed Tartan that I used for Ivan's tablet case, and has been lined with a all over rose patterned red cotton quilting fabric.  The buttons are mother of pearl and there are snap fasteners stitched underneath.

I'm really pleased with him, and he is going to be the first item in my Folksy shop, once I get it set up, I hope, fingers crossed. 

Now all I need is to find other pre-loved fabrics that I can turn into Teddies.  I'm considering making one from leather, although it will have to be the very old and soft type.  Watch this space.

Teddy Bears

This is Victor Wilfred Bear, sporting his natty red ribbon tie.  He is currently sitting in the shop window at The Sewing Space in Hythe, Kent.  His sister, Jessica Bear, turned out to be camera shy (forgot to photograph her)  and is sitting at the back of the shop in amongst the display of beautifully patched and quilted baby quilts made from the same brushed cotton material.  Lovely stuff to work with as it has a little bit of stretch that makes it easy to manipulate on the fiddly bits, like sewing the head and body together via the neck edge which is about an inch wide, making it tricky going on the sewing machine. 

Ivan, has a ragbag at work (painting and decorating technician at a local college) and the tutors often donate outgrown children's clothes to it.  He was given a very nice suede and fleece look child's body warmer, far too nice to chop up, so it has made it's way back to the recycling emporium that is my home, and will be turned into a much larger teddy, hopefully, so long as there is enough fabric.  If not I can see a nice suede effect bag appearing. 

Finished Objects at long last

I have finally finished the Fairisle tank top (sleeveless top) that I have been working on since end of February, and here it is:
                                                                  
I haven't been able to deliver it to the customer yet as she has been unable to get into Hythe to collect it.                                     

Fairisle Sleeveless Top knitted in Rowan Pure Wool

It was Ivan's birthday last Tuesday, and he has bought himself a Tablet at last, so I made him a case to go with it

The outer case is made from Harris Tweed Tartan, and it is wadded and lined with brown cotton.  The whole case is then bound with bias binding made from the same cotton, and then I cannibalised a new belt to create the clasp.  I have a gizmo that attaches eyelets to whatever, which obviously incorporates two different sized punches to create the holes for the eyelets to go into.  I used this to make holes in the leather around the outside and then sewed it into place.  I did consider riveting the belt to the case, but decided that the rivets could scratch the tablet inside.  Ivan loves it, and I think it looks very masculine.

I'm in the middle of making Teddies at the moment.  Little ones with semi-stuffed legs so that they sit independently.  I've just finished one made with a fat quarter of VW campervan cotton. He is going to be called Victor Wilfred Bear, and I will get round to taking his mugshot, probably tomorrow.

I've been working very hard

And I've finally finished this ...

It's a Sirdar pattern and takes blooming ages.  Mind you once I'd got the hang of the pattern I was able to speed up considerably.  The edging was knitted separately and I sewed it on as I went.  168 inches of edging that took.  The customer is very happy with it, thank goodness.

Now what about this?  This is a WhirlyGig Bug painted onto a snail shell by my incredibly clever daughter.  Luckily the shell is currently unoccupied, especially as I managed to drop it into the pot of varnish so it is now varnished inside and out.

I've got various projects on the go now, including the innumerable UFOs stashed around the house.

Busy, busy, busy

Liebster Award and the real identity of my Secret Santa

Which was Barbara, aka busybusybeejay.  Many thanks for such a wonderful box of goodies.

Following Barbara's rules I have to give you 11 random facts about myself:

1 I am left handed
2 I love driving
3 I love architecture
4 I also love archeology, especially Time Team
5 I adore Top Gear
6 I have collected dragons in the past but have run out of room for them
7 I am now collecting knitting and crochet WIPs
8 I dream of being thin
9 I am contemplating getting a dog
10 I am 46
11 I have two children, a 19 year old girl and an 8 year old boy

Now I have to answer the questions set for me:

Favourite room in the house. Living room at my craft table
Are you a lark or an owl. Definitely an Owl
Do you like cooking? Nope
favourite film?  The Hobbit
Do you like shopping? Not really
Travel plans for 2013?  St Ives
Dinner partner? My other half, Ivan
Can you speak any languages other than english? Screaming Mother and Gobbledegook
Which month is your birthday? March
Do you have a favourite perfume? J Lo
Are you tidy/untidy? Untidy

Myriads of pictures to show you ...

And to begin with, a picture of my wonderful Secret Santa goodies that I should have showed you two months ago (with abject apologies to my wonderful Secret Santa who I think was Allison.  Please correct me if I am wrong and forgive me for my teabag memory)

Can you believe how yummy this lot is?  The shawl has been worn several times since this picture and has attracted many admiring comments.

Next lot of photos are of Amber's stone paintings which she is hoping to sell to raise some much needed spondoolies for Mother's Day, Mum's Birthday ...  oops sorry I mean for art supplies.   (Silly me)

There's one missing, a wonderful study of a Stag Beetle.  Will get that one on as soon as I change the batteries in the camera.

As I have mentioned in the past, I have undertaken some commissions.  The first one was a Snoopy pullover, as ably modeled by Ivan's tip (sorry desk)

And I am currently working on a fairisle tanktop (which is looking very nice) and a baby blanket in 2ply Sirdar Snuggly.  This is the tension and pattern swatch I knitted in the same yarn.

It looks yellow in this picture but in actual fact it is white.

Here's a very clever Blackbird, normally ground feeders, who has worked out how to balance on my hedge and help himself to the fat balls in the hanging feeder.  The Magpies try this from time to time, but being much bigger and heavier birds they keep sinking into the hedge or tripping up and falling head first into it.  They have worked out how to flip the fat balls through the top of the feeder (lifting the lid first) and then legging it with a whole one.

Then of course there's always the Great Tit (thought that was David Cameron but it turns out to be a very pretty songbird)

I'm so excited ...

It's been a busy old time for me, so much so, that I've not blogged about anything for yonks, although I have been keeping up with reading blogs.  (Which to my mind is much more exciting)

Along with knitting away at lavender hearts and Alpacas for the Alpaca farm, I've taken on two commissions for knitted items, a lovely 2ply knitted lace christening shawl, and a fairisle tank top from a very old pattern, that is now back in fashion.  My lovely customer decided that the tank top had to be knitted in the best quality yarn, so now I'm using Rowan Classic Wool; absolutely beautiful to knit with, lovely stitch definition and leaves your hands feeling really soft.  Even for me, as I am allergic to wool, but I am not having too many problems with this one.

As I cannot knit anything like this for my lot, they wouldn't wear it, I am very privileged to be able to produce it for someone who will appreciate it, wear it and look after it.  I think this is one of the reasons I love commissions, to be able to knit things I wouldn't normally get the opportunity to try.

I had a phone call from the magazine, The Knitter, on Valentines Day, to tell me that I am a runner up in a design competition they ran last year, and I have won 4 balls of Gomitoli 4ply yarn.  I am so looking forward to getting them.  I designed a knitted handbag (the competition was to design an accessory using Gomitoli yarns) and I dug the design out the other day with a view to perhaps developing it further.  My reasoning being that if the judges liked it enough to make it a runner up, then perhaps there is a market for it.  But need to get the commissions done first as they are both due in May.